Yunli — Honkai Star Rail Character Guide

Overview

Counter-attacker who retaliates with Blast AoE follow-ups whenever she is hit, relying on Parry timing for massive Ultimate-enhanced counters. Strong in all modes but heavily dependent on aggro to maintain consistent damage output.

Counter-based Physical DPS who retaliates with Blast AoE follow-ups whenever hit by enemies. Her Talent triggers an immediate Counter on any attacker, restoring 15 Energy per hit. Ultimate activates Parry state with Taunt and +100% CRIT DMG, enabling either Intuit: Cull (if attacked during Parry) with 6 bonus bouncing hits, or the weaker Intuit: Slash (if Parry expires). Max Energy pool is 240 but Ultimate costs 120, allowing her to store two charges for tactical timing.

Key Mechanics

• Damage is entirely dependent on being attacked — without enemies targeting Yunli, her counter-based kit produces minimal damage. Her signature LC Dance at Sunset has an aggro modifier that pushes targeting rate from ~25% to ~70%. Lynx is the F2P alternative for aggro redirection.
• Ultimate timing is critical: Parry lasts only until the end of the next unit's turn. Use it immediately before an enemy turn to guarantee Intuit: Cull. Using it before an ally's turn wastes the Parry window and only triggers the weaker Intuit: Slash.
• Counter damage scales with enemy SPD, not Yunli's own SPD. Building SPD on Yunli is wasteful — action advancers (Robin, Sunday, Sparkle) compensate for her 94 base SPD without requiring SPD investment.
• The 240 Max Energy pool interacts favorably with percentage-based Energy restoration. Huohuo's Ultimate restores 48 Energy (based on 240 pool) rather than the expected 24, providing nearly half an Ultimate charge per cast.

Best Yunli Teams

Hypercarry Counter

Yunli as solo DPS with double amplifier support and a sustain. Uses action advancers to compensate for her 94 base SPD. Focuses on maximizing counter damage through stacked buffs — flat ATK from Robin, CRIT DMG from Sunday, and sustain ATK multipliers from DH•PT. Most effective with her signature LC or Lynx to maintain consistent aggro.

• S-tier: Yunli, Robin, Sunday, Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae
• S-tier: Yunli, Robin, Tribbie, Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae
• A-tier: Yunli, Robin, Sunday, Huohuo
• A-tier: Yunli, Robin, Sparkle, Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae
• B-tier: Yunli, Trailblazer • Remembrance, Tingyun, Lynx

Shifu Follow-up

Yunli paired with March 7th The Hunt as her Destruction-path Shifu. Yunli's frequent counters feed March's Charge gauge, and March's Enhanced Basic gains +20% ATK Additional DMG per hit while granting Yunli +60% CRIT DMG and +36% Break Effect via A6 Tide Tamer. Robin amplifies both follow-up attackers equally and Duran 4P stacks rapidly with two follow-up sources. Excels in Pure Fiction where frequent enemy attacks keep Yunli countering and March's Charge topped up.

• A-tier: Yunli, March 7th • The Hunt, Robin, Aventurine
• A-tier: Yunli, March 7th • The Hunt, Robin, Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae

Best Yunli Teammates

DPS Partners: March 7th • The Hunt (S), Topaz & Numby (A), Moze (C)

Amplifiers: Robin (S), Sunday (S), Ashveil (S), Tribbie (A), Mortenax Blade (A), Cipher (A), Sparkle (A), Silver Wolf (B), Ruan Mei (B), Tingyun (B), Trailblazer • Remembrance (B)

Sustains: Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae (S), Huohuo (S), Aventurine (A), Fu Xuan (B), Luocha (B), Lynx (B), Gallagher (C)

Yunli Investment Priority

1. LC S1 — Signature dramatically increases aggro, pushing hit rate from ~25% to ~70%. Without it, enemies frequently ignore Yunli and she does next to no damage. Consistency alone makes this the first target.
2. E2 — 20% DEF ignore on all Counter damage is multiplicative with other damage sources and more valuable against high-DEF enemies than ATK buffs. Massive damage spike — the single strongest eidolon.
3. E1 — +20% DMG to Intuit: Slash and Cull plus 3 extra Cull bounce instances. Significant damage increase on her strongest attacks — good stepping stone on the way to E2.

Yunli Relics and Stat Targets

Recommended: The Wind-Soaring Valorous with Inert Salsotto

Stat targets: CRIT Rate 90-100%, CRIT DMG 100-120%, ATK 3200+

Main stats: Body: CRIT Rate > CRIT DMG · Feet: ATK% · Sphere: Physical DMG > ATK% · Rope: ATK% > Energy Regen

Best Yunli Light Cones

• Dance at Sunset (Best in Slot): Signature LC with an aggro modifier that pushes enemy targeting onto Yunli roughly 70% of the time versus ~25% without it. Also provides 36% CRIT DMG and a 72% DMG boost to follow-up counters at S1. The aggro increase is the primary value — without high aggro, enemies frequently bypass her and damage collapses entirely.
• The Unreachable Side: Best non-signature option. Provides 24% CRIT Rate and a 24% DMG boost that is effectively always active for Yunli since it triggers on taking damage — consistent with her playstyle. Lacks the aggro increase, so consistency suffers without Lynx or favorable enemy targeting patterns.
• Brighter Than the Sun: Provides CRIT Rate, stackable ATK%, and Energy Regen via Basic ATK usage. Takes 2 turns to fully ramp up. Less disruptive than it sounds since Yunli often uses Basics to conserve SP, and Energy Regen compensates for the reduced energy from forgoing Skills.
• Something Irreplaceable: ATK% and conditional DMG boost when hit or defeating enemies. The on-hit condition is essentially always active for counter-attack play. Minor self-heal on-hit is a small survivability bonus. Lacks aggro increase which limits consistency.

Yunli FAQ

Who works best with Yunli in HSR?

Yunli's best team options include Robin, Sunday, Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae. StarGuide rates teammates by role and composition fit so the recommendation reflects how the character is actually played.

What relics should Yunli use?

Yunli's recommended relic setup is The Wind-Soaring Valorous with Inert Salsotto, with stat targets around CRIT Rate 90-100%, CRIT DMG 100-120%, ATK 3200+.

What is the best light cone for Yunli?

Dance at Sunset is the top listed light cone for Yunli. Signature LC with an aggro modifier that pushes enemy targeting onto Yunli roughly 70% of the time versus ~25% without it. Also provides 36% CRIT DMG and a 72% DMG boost to follow-up counters at S1. The aggro increase is the primary value — without high aggro, enemies frequently bypass her and damage collapses entirely.

How should I invest in Yunli?

Yunli's first listed investment priority is LC S1. Signature dramatically increases aggro, pushing hit rate from ~25% to ~70%. Without it, enemies frequently ignore Yunli and she does next to no damage. Consistency alone makes this the first target.

Important Notes

• Damage is heavily dependent on enemies targeting Yunli — without her signature LC or Lynx, counter rate is low and DPS suffers significantly
• Ultimate Parry lasts only until the end of the next unit's turn — use it immediately before an enemy turn to guarantee Intuit: Cull. E6 removes this timing requirement
• 94 base SPD requires action advancers (Sunday, Sparkle, or Robin) to maintain competitive action economy in endgame
• March 7th Swordmaster's auto-advance on Enhanced Basic can expire Yunli's Parry before an enemy acts — coordinate turns carefully
• Build ~100% CRIT Rate outside combat; the Ultimate adds +100% CRIT DMG, so the effective in-combat ratio is 100 CRIT Rate / 200 CRIT DMG
• Aventurine's high Preservation innate aggro may redirect enemy attacks away from Yunli when she lacks the signature LC